The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an absolutely behemoth franchise, which has gotten the superhero genre down pat. Phase Three was particularly successful, as every single installment was a massive box office success. The current slate of movies has also gotten positive reception for becoming a more inclusive place, as women and people of color took center stage through movies like Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and Ant-Man and The Wasp.
But there has been a large call from fans to include a major LGBT character within the MCU. Avengers: Endgame saw director Joe Russo cameo as a gay man who'd survived Thanos' snap of death, but there's yet to be a significant queer character. Kevin Feige and company have teased this might change in the mysterious Phase Four-- we just don't know what's coming next.
Marvel exec Victoria Alonso recently did a Reddit AMA, when she was asked about queer characters in the MCU. She said:
I would feel honored to have a member of the LGBTQ+ group represented in our films and I hope the future shows that.
The future of the MCU might be a total mystery to the public, but the powers that be within the studio continue to affirm their commitment to creating a more inclusive space on the big screen. And from the sound of Victoria Alonso, that may be happening sooner rather than later.
Victoria Alonso's comment on Reddit doesn't actually reveal anything about Phase Four. Marvel Studios has made secrecy into a fine art throughout the year, so she's not in a position to confirm outright that the MCU will include a major queer character in the future. But her comments seem to echo that of other Studio heads like Kevin Feige. So we'll just have to wait and see what Marvel has up its sleeve for the next slate of blockbusters.
Despite the calls for more inclusivity in the MCU, there was actually the chance for some LGBT representation with Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok. The hilarious threequel introduced Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, an Asgardian who ended up having a significant role in the greater MCU. Thompson has maintained that she played the character as a bisexual woman, and a scene alluding to her sexuality ended up on the cutting room floor.
But since Valkyrie's scenes with a female love interest didn't make it into Ragnarok's theatrical cut, Joe Russo's small role in Avengers: Endgame was the first time an explicitly LGBT character was feautred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Related: 8 Marvel Characters Who Could Be The MCU's First Gay Hero
It should be interesting to see if/when a queer superhero ends up making it to the big screen. There are quite a few possible choices from the comic book, including popular X-Man Iceman. Now that Disney has the rights to the X-Men, a new version of Bobby Drake could easily make its way to the MCU.
The next installment in the MCU is Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 2nd, which will reveal the post-Endgame shared universe. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
